Monday, June 1, 2015

Dealbreaker?

So I'm in the process of reading this book, and I'm having a little trouble getting into the story.  I usually keep plugging away, as I'm reluctant to give up on a book (and in this case, I've been reading this series for for-ev-er, and I don't want to skip ahead because I'm afraid something pivotal will happen in this book and then I'll be lost in future books.  But I digress...).

I decided to check out the reviews on Goodreads, as I was curious to find if I was the only one who had trouble engaging with this story.  Maybe everyone else loves it and I'm just the odd one out?  It's happened before.

Imagine my surprise when I find that the heroine of this book dies.  Dies as in is dead, gone, lost forever to the hero.  No coming back as a ghost or spirit to keep him company, no raised from the afterlife to carry on the relationship.  Nope.  She's out of the picture, do not pass Go, no happy ending for you.

Normally, this kind of thing wouldn't bother me.  I've read plenty of books where a main character dies.  But I feel like there is one inviolate rule when it comes to romance books: the story must end with a happily ever after for the hero and heroine.  Kind of hard to pull that off when one half of the couple is dead.
Maybe I'm just being sensitive, but I think if you market your book as a romance, it needs to adhere to the genre rules.  As a reader, I pick up a romance novel when I want that emotionally satisfying story.  If that doesn't happen, I feel cheated.  As it is, I still haven't decided if I want to finish the book.  I'm more than halfway through, but I have lost all enthusiasm for the story since I know how it will end.

What do you all think?  Do you want your books to adhere to genre rules too, or am I just being grumpy?

14 comments:

  1. No, you're not being grumpy at all, Lara!

    I'd be really pissed off if I invested the time & money on a romance that didn't give me a HEA or a HFN (and you said it was a series?! yikes). It's mislabeling and that is a deal breaker.

    I'm all for twist endings, but the heroine dying in a romance...that's just silly. Unless there's more to the series and she's revived or something. I know Chloe Neill's 'Chicagoland Vampires' has something like that happen in Book 4, but it was more of a teaser, and to be fair that series is marketed as a UF...and I just happen to have a lot of investment in the MC and her love interest.

    So was it solely romance, or did it have a thing like the UF/PNR books I'm seeing today where the romance sometimes blends with the mystery/action/supernatural politics?

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    1. It's a paranormal romance. Lots of possibilities for supernatural happenings there, but nope. She's dead and gone, with no coming back.

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  2. TOTALLY AGREE.
    It's the reason I read (and write) romance. I made a conscious decision after reading too many books with no character growth.

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  3. I get it---totally! I'll pass.

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  4. Unless the story was marketed as a tragedy, it's a better move to let the couple have their happily ever after (or a least a "we're both still alive and going to face the darkness" sort of thing, depending on what other genres it's in).

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    1. I agree--I'm okay with a 'happy for now' type of ending as well.

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  5. No, there are certain expectations, and when you're expecting that happily ever after then it should be delivered. Now, I'm a big fan of keeping the reader guessing, but if you just throw crazy things in there that don't match the story it doesn't work.

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    1. I think this was a case of trying to be *too* edgy...

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  6. Definitely a deal-breaker. According to the Romance Writers of America:

    Two basic elements comprise every romance novel: a central love story and an emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending.

    A Central Love Story: The main plot centers around individuals falling in love and struggling to make the relationship work. A writer can include as many subplots as he/she wants as long as the love story is the main focus of the novel.

    An Emotionally Satisfying and Optimistic Ending: In a romance, the lovers who risk and struggle for each other and their relationship are rewarded with emotional justice and unconditional love.

    I think the writer is genre-hopping and needs to re-characterize the story in the interest of truth in advertising.

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    1. That's what I thought too. I wouldn't have been so upset if the book had been shelved in a different spot. But because it is promoted as a romance, I went into it with certain expectations, and it's dimmed my enjoyment of the book.

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  7. Oh yeah. I have that book (I'm guessing) sitting on my review shelf. I had kind of given up on the series but then got sent the book for review and was going to give it one last try until I heard that spoiler. NOPE!

    I did a post a couple weeks back on my deal breakers. That's not one that comes up too often but yeah it would near always be a deal breaker. I've had one where it wasn't. It was a married couple and he was dying (you knew this going in) and trying to get his wife and best friend together since he knew they cared for each other and would be what each other needed. It was a wonderful book but dang near killed me when he passed. But there was still a HEA for the couple. It was a very unique one though. Not sure many authors could pull that off in a romance.

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  8. As Hana Banana noted, this probably should have been classed as Urban Fantasy. Normally UF has more of the twist to the male love interest. The guy may get killed, or he may turn into an arch-enemy.

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